


The X-Factor: Pro-Bending Competition

by orphan_account



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender, One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Avatar & Benders Setting, M/M, OT5 Friendship (One Direction), Post Avatar Korra, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-04
Updated: 2020-04-21
Packaged: 2021-03-01 10:00:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23469547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: 32 years after the death of Avatar Korra, and 18 years since the freak accident Avatar Keh died in occurred, Louis Tomlinson, Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Liam Payne, and Zayn Malik enter a Pro-Bending tournament in Republic City called the X-Factor.It is here that the journey of Pro-Bending team One Direction, takes it's start after being eliminated from the solo-competition. But, learning to work as a team is not the only thing this group is going to have to navigate.After all, the world is waiting for the appearance of the new Avatar.
Relationships: Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan/himself, Zayn Malik/Liam Payne
Kudos: 17





	1. There Is Only One Direction

In 249 ASC (After Sozin’s Comet), 18 years after the freak death of Avatar Keh, Republic City and the rest of the world has been left without an Avatar.

Keh, a promising young earthbender, had been discovered as the new avatar at 12 years of age, but, two years into her training, a freak accident while training in the north pole brought an avalanche down on her.

It is assumed that she was unable to access the avatar state to save herself and after weeks of searching was pronounced dead.

Though her body was never found, they eventually did find a cave built at the bottom of the glacier, decorated with the drawings of a 14 year old girl, and her hollow forearm guards she wore at all times to ground her for her bending.

The world was devastated by the loss of Avatar Keh, especially considering her age. She was the first unrealized Avatar since Avatar Korra reset the cycle.

Now concerns were rising, it had been eighteen years since her death and still no appearance of the new avatar. People were beginning to wonder, what if the cycle had been broken?

Since Keh was not a realized Avatar and hadn’t mastered the elements, was it possible the Avatar hadn’t been re-born?

People were growing restless. And so, Simon Cowell, a rich philanthropist started a competition, the X-Factor, a bending tournament to showcase the powerful benders of Republic City, to assure it’s citizens that even if the Avatar was gone there were plenty of powerful benders to protect them.

And that’s where he came in.

Louis Tomlinson was an eighteen-year-old firebender hoping to go Pro, and the best way to do that was to get on the X-Factor. He had entered the solo competition and got accepted. He even made it through to bootcamp, where they were put through rigorous training before being put against each other in agni kai style one on one same-element battle.

Zayn, his good friend and roommate as of late, won his agni kai, thus making it through to the next round.

But after he fought, Louis had been dubbed the loser of his agni kai. Louis had been devastated. As happy as he was for his friend, Louis had no idea how he was supposed to become a Pro-Bender if he couldn’t even make it past the first elimination round.

Well, that was until Simon called him and seven other people back to the stage. Simon had told them that they were too talented to let go of, and put himself, Harry, Liam, and Niall onto a team.

Louis was officially on a bending team. It was his dream come true, he had only wanted to put himself out as an individual in the first place so that he could be considered for a bending team.

Louis was the oldest on their team but he didn’t mind cause they all seemed like right good lads and he couldn’t wait to compete with them.

Louis remembered the four of them erupting into cheers, and he even recalls leaping into the arms of a one Harry Styles, a kind waterbender he had been chatting up at bootcamp.

The four of them went back to his and Zayn’s where the five of them threw an impromptu party with bad party games, alcohol, and probably too much pizza considering they needed to be in shape.

It was perfect.

Zayn got on right well with everyone, especially Liam who he had been making eyes at all night.

The next day they had started practices. Though all a bit hungover, and feeling quite groggy they had quite a riot. Him and Niall had three combo attacks by the end of the day and Harry and him had learned how to signal each other when they were attacking so Harry didn’t put out his attack. All in all it was a good time, and they were getting on real well.

Niall and Harry had been working on a combo when they’d come up with the team’s name. 

“No Niall direct the funnel forward”

“I’m trying”

“There is only one direction the other team will be attacking you from and that is forward, not from your left where I am,” Harry replied his voice dripping in sarcasm

“Whatchya just say?” asked Liam

“That I’m on his left?”

“No not that earlier.”

“That they’ll be attacking from the front?”

“Yeah that, and we’ll be attacking them all from one direction”

“One direction aye?” Niall said, dropping the funnel with a beaming smile.

“I like the sound of that.” Harry contributed

Louis chimed in then, “One Direction. Four lads, four elements, but one goal, one way to accomplish it, One Direction.”

“BRILLIANT!”

“My god Niall quiet down, and get down,” yelled Liam, “Not all of us can reach you up there.”

Niall laughed and dropped down onto Liam’s shoulders, “Oi,” throwing him off his balance and right into Harry, who took Louis down with him. By the end they were all a giggling heap on the gym floor.

It was then that Louis knew it was the start of something good.

But, as confident as he was in One Direction, in his team. He couldn’t help but be terrified to walk onto the arena stage in a matter of minutes for their debut as a Pro-Bending team.

Right in the middle of wondering if he and Liam had practiced their combo enough, Harry broke his train of thought.

“Hey”

“Oops”

It was sort of a running joke between them to greet each other the way they first had in the bathroom after their tryouts.

“You’re going to do great, you know.”

“I just- I want to get this right. I want us to keep standing on that stage together.”

“We will. Just take it one match at a time. We’ll get through. And even if we don’t, you know these guys, we’ll still be a team afterward. We’ll just have to make our way back to this stage. And we’ve got our whole lives to do that.”

“Thanks Haz.” He said with a small smile as he gestured for Harry to let him help with his forearm guards. “All done, and whaleshark-boy you better not any water on me.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

Before he could say anything else, the buzzer signaling their call to the stage went off.

He gave Harry a quick smile before lining up to follow Liam onto the stage for One Direction’s first ever Pro-Bending tournament.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for taking the time to read my work! Honestly, this a piece I am mostly writing for fun because I need an avenue to get all of my Larry, and ATLA head canons out. Have a great day, take care of yourself, and practice social distancing!


	2. Air, Water, Earth, Fire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey folks thanks for reading! 
> 
> I made a few changes to the Pro Bending rules to accommodate four benders instead of three. 
> 
> Basically:  
> Airbenders function similar to waterbenders as they are allowed attacks at any part of the body. However, like firebenders they can’t maintain a constant stream of air and can only maintain it a few seconds at a time. Airbenders also have to be grounded at all times, no flying or rolling around the platform. They also can’t push themselves back on the platform if they are thrown off.
> 
> Due to there being four players, rings are lost and gained as a team to make the game harder. Once one member is pushed back a ring the whole team has to move with them to that ring in 10 seconds time or they will be penalized. 
> 
> Everything else is basically the same

When the whistle blew everything started moving fast. The opposing team’s airbender let out a massive curved blast teamed with their firebender that forced 1D backwards. Harry stepped over the line unfortunately and within seconds they had already lost a ring of territory. 

“It’s alright lads we’ve got this!” Niall yelled encouragingly. They were taking on an experienced team, and they’d only been playing together a week. So naturally, they could be forgiven for losing their first territory so fast. Louis grinned and readied himself on the attack, glancing to his right to see if Liam was ready. He then brought his hand to his mouth in a fist and blew out a massive breath of what Louis liked to call dragon fire. In his enthusiasm it held a large arc and reached the other team quickly, catching them off guard. Liam then threw three rock disks directly at their waterbender, who was forced back to their original territory. Thus gaining 1D their original ground back. 

Louis was about to celebrate but Harry took no time funnelling a whip toward their firebender, completely dousing her, she was not going to be very useful to her team as long as they could keep their airbender distracted. Which Louis took onto himself to do. 

He and the opposing airbender become locked in a dance of each trying to throw the other off their feet. He did a low kick of fire in a half circle towards the opposing airbender forcing them off their feet, Liam threw a disk square in the airbender's belly, throwing them from the platform. 

However, that victory was short lived as the opposing waterbender threw Liam from the platform while he had been focused helping Louis. 

He muttered under his breath so as to not get carded, “Shit.” 

They were down their earthbender. Earth is the stability of the team, without Liam, he doubted they would last much longer this round. 

“Niall, now” Louis called as he pumped his fists to produce explosions of fire. 

Niall directed a current to create a fiery wind headed straight for their earthbender. The opposing firebender in an attempt to catch Louis’ flames was thrown off balance, which Harry used to his advantage pushing her from the platform with a water whip. 

The opposing earthbender stumbled backwards from the fire, gaining 1D another territory. 

Now it was him, Niall, and Harry against their earthbender and waterbender. Niall lined up to the waterbender and started throwing wind balls towards their head as airbenders and waterbenders are the only ones allowed to attack the head.

Niall nailed them in the eyes, temporarily blinding them, and then sent another hit to the chest which knocked them off. 

Right as Niall went to cheer in success, the Earthbender sent a disk his way and caught him off guard, and sent him off the platform.

Louis and Harry moved side by side to take the earthbender. The Earthbender was frantically throwing disks at them which Harry stopped and Louis tried to get an attack in the breaks but this Earthbender was ridiculously fast. 

Suddenly, three disks nailed him in the stomach sending him flying back three territories, but luckily not off. 

“Lou!” Harry cried unable to turn to see he was okay. 

“I’m here Haz, I’m here.” 

Harry visibly relaxed after hearing Louis was still on the platform with him and started moving back to meet him on the last territory as the earthbender advanced. Harry had ten seconds to get back to Louis and so Louis stood and started trying to take the brunt of the earthbender so Harry could move faster. Harry had almost reached him, he turned just briefly, smiling his beaming smile to Louis. And it all seemed to happen in slow motion. 

Louis had caught Harry’s attention right as the earthbender decided to throw another disk, it was off though, and going straight for Harry’s head. 

Louis panicked. His fire wouldn’t be able to stop it but he still felt himself stretching his arms out. 

Suddenly everything stopped.

...

Louis was sure he must have blacked out because when he came to, he was on the ground with Harry above him, and the disk was smashed to pieces in newly formed crater between them and the earthbender. 

Everything was quiet. He reached up and touched his head, wondering if he had a concussion, why else would there be no sound in a stadium of this size. 

But as soon as he did, the stadium erupted with noise, the referee blew the whistle and the crowd started cheering and, excited chattering, a few even seemed to be weeping. Louis looked up at Harry kneeling above him, with a shocked expression. 

Groggily he sat up, “Haz, what.. What happened?” 

Harry didn’t answer for a second seeming to be deep in thought, and then he smiled, that bright smile that told Louis that everything was going to be okay. “Well, Lou, you saved me from a pretty nasty concussion.”

But how? Fire couldn’t stop a disk of rock that fast? “Wha- how?”

“You airbended it.”

“That’s impossible. Harry, it must have been someone else, I’m a firebender.”

“No Lou,” Harry said with a small laugh, taking his hand in his own, “you're the Avatar.”

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah idk that was something, thanks for reading


End file.
